Last week, we hosted a Mobile Strategies Forum along with our partners Webtrends and Merkle at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio, San Francisco.
The idea for the event grew out of a lack of satisfaction around most industry conferences. Instead, of the usual talking heads giving presentations on recent industry data or pay-to-play panels of people trying to pitch their services by way of sharing information, we wanted to create a forum around education and information with some of our peers in mobile. This invite only event pulled together mobile executives from brands, media companies and solutions providers for a series of round-table discussions covering all facets of mobile strategy.
We kicked off the day with a panel discussion about the present state of the mobile industry. I was joined by Benjamin Diggles from Webtrends and Bruce Hershey from Merkle as we each shared the perspectives of a developer, analytics provider and mobile strategist, respectively. We all agreed that mobile is now a necessary part of a brand’s marketing strategy as opposed to a new experimental medium. What is more, we ll agreed the apps vs m-site debate is no longer relevant. Brands should make data-driven decisions and there are different reasons for selecting one or the other—a strategy including both ultimately being ideal. Apps are great for loyalty and can provide a ‘coolness factor’ to create buzz, while mobile-web syncs well with discovery and existing online marketing activities. Bruce also shared information that shows that SMS is still the workhorse of mobile.
Following the introductory panel, we kicked off our round-table discussions that each covered their own segment of mobile strategy—from the pillars of mobile marketing, monetization opportunities, ROI and mobile advertising, to mobile design and development approaches, tablets and using mobile analytics for data-driven decision making. Each discussion was led by an expert on the topic, but our intimate roundtable format was very much based on questions and discussion from the group. I was impressed with level of candor and it was great to hear viewpoints of companies from different verticals tackling the same challenges.
Closing out the day, Adam Harris from Men’s Wearhouse presented an informative case study sharing how K&G Fashion Superstore has made mobile a key part of their marketing strategy through its ability to drive loyalty and additional revenue. By encouraging customers to text in their contact details at the point of sale for a $5 coupon, they were able to build their customer database with high-value, repeat customers. The results were impressive with a 90% response rate and 50% retention rate, exceeding similar email campaigns by more than two times.
Reflecting on the event, I thought it was a huge success. Not only were we treated with a sunny day in the Presidio, but the quality of participants and discussion was top notch. Based on positive feedback, I see us doing another Mobile Strategies Forum later this year.
If you’re interested in staying up to date on our next event, let your Trilibis contact know, send us an email to info@trilibis.com or reach out to us via Twitter or Facebook.
